Pakistani interior minister shot during political rally

By Islamuddin Sajid ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal was shot and injured during a public meeting in his native town in northeastern Punjab province on Sunday, according to a government official. State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhery told Anadolu Agency: “An unknown assailant has attacked the interior minister during a political gathering in Kanjrur area of Narowal district, his native town, and got injured.” A bullet struck Iqbal's right shoulder; however, his condition is out of danger, Chaudhery added. The interior minister was immediately shifted to a nearby hospital; he was later shifted to Lahore, the provincial capital city of Punjab province. “Allah Almighty has been very kind, we request all friends and wellwishers to remember me in special prayers,” Iqbal said later in his first tweet from his official account since he came under attack. According to police, the suspected gunman was identified as 22-year-old Abid Hussain; he remains under arrest and was shifted to an unknown location for police interrogation. "The attacker was around 15 yard away from the interior minister when he opened fired on him but luckily the party workers and police quickly grabbed him otherwise he could have fired more bullets," police official Shahid Lateef told Anadolu Agency via phone. The suspect is a resident of Narowal district and belongs to a local religious group, Lateef said; a revolver used in the attack on the minister was also recovered from him. “Shooter is only a vehicle, those patronizing them, those inciting them for political gains and those using them to settle score are real culprits,” Maryam Nawaz Sharif, daughter of former premier, said in her tweet after the attack on Iqbal. According to the doctors, Iqbal’s bone was fractured after a bullet pierced through his right shoulder. Iqbal, a close aide of ousted Premier Nawaz Sharif, is considered to be the man behind the ruling party’s economic agenda; he led the Planning and Development Ministry and the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects. The attack comes at a time when the ruling party PML-N faces several challenges after the courts disqualified Nawaz Sharif and former Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif from holding any public office for life; the country’s top accountability watchdog has also launched investigations in corruption cases against several other ruling party leaders. Prime Minister Shahid Khatab Abbasi strongly condemned the attack and asked for a report from provincial authorities. Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, former President Asif Ali Zardari, opposition leader and Chairman Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Imran Khan, Jamaat-e-Islami Chief Senator Sirajul Haq, and other Pakistani political party leaders also strongly condemned the attack and prayed for Iqbal’s early recovery.